Marketers are discovering that face-to-face activity can help change consumer behaviour - as well as offer a trial of products and services.
Effective sampling campaigns for food products are much in evidence, such as LoewyBe's work for Jordans cereals and RPM's for Hot Noodle. These often involve educating consumers, such as iD's summer campaign in Tesco and Sainsbury's stores explaining the weight loss benefits of Slimfast snack bars.
But as well as handing out samples, field marketers are now often found helping people come to grips with ideas. When Philips introduced a smaller, lower-cost light bulb, for example, it called on The Blue Water Agency to help accustom retailers and consumers to the change.
And when Diageo decided to increase the measure of spirits to bring the UK into line with other countries, it needed field marketers to explain the advantages to pub landlords and bar owners.
Blue Water staff visited outlets to upgrade all optical measures, leave point-of-sale material and train bar staff how best to serve drinks. From a logistical point of view, this proved a challenging prospect. "When you consider each venue has more than one bar, hitting deadlines and managing projects effectively becomes crucial," says managing director David Louis.
The agency is used to such tight deadlines. It has upgraded 12 UK airports in one day and for the Marriott Hotel chain was required to convert 63 hotels in two weeks. In two years, Blue Water has visited more than 7500 bars across the country.
Alleviating pressure
Field marketers also helped get London's Congestion Charge scheme up and running. Ellert worked with Paypoint, the branded payment network, to increase the number of independent retailers offering to accept payment from motorists. Staff helped install terminals and trained shop staff to use them, as well as placing point-of-sale material.
"On the day it was very demanding, and we were able to manage queues and take the pressure off retailers to help things go smoothly," says Ellert business unit director Bruce Ellison.
RPM was involved this year in efforts to widen the appeal of cricket.
The Twenty20 Cup was launched in June by the England and Wales Cricket Board, aimed at a young generation of fans. Rather than simply explain the concept, the agency designed a multi-sensory roadshow to tour the UK from May to August.
The roadshow supported the first series of 20-over matches and appeared at a variety of outdoor events, as well as visiting beach fronts and shopping centres.
Visitors entered a darkened room with artificial grass under foot and perimeter boards along the front wall. They were then immersed in an audio-visual projection with surround sound, experiencing the excitement of the game from the perspective of the players and spectators.
This year saw a £4m London tourism campaign - 'Totally London' - led by mayor Ken Livingstone, to encourage residents in and around the capital to visit its attractions. Headcount teams targeted family groups with leaflets and balloons to persuade them to seek more information on a dedicated web site.
The campaign climaxed with Livingston conducting a public 'walk-about' in Soho with Chris Evans and Billie Piper, accompanied by a jazz band and street entertainers.
"Although the information was in the printed material, there is no substitute for talking to people," says Headcount commercial director Lynda Edge. "Many of those we approached were aware of the campaign from media reports, but were not sure how it applied to them. A two-minute chat sorted everything out."
Agencies note a growing emphasis on achieving sales through field marketing activity. Proving a link between their efforts and an uplift in sales is not always easy, especially when they are part of an integrated campaign.
But in many cases the benefits can be shown to be dramatic. Following a series of experiential campaigns for Coca-Cola carried out by The Works London, consumption rose by 80% among those who had the full experience, compared with 47% of those who had only had a sample.
Boosting sales
Value was also demonstrated in Lime's promotion of John Lewis to 14- to 18-year-olds, where gaming 'pods' were set up at six stores and young visitors competed for prizes. This led to more than £12,000 of extra sales and boosted use of the company's web site.
To achieve sales, some field marketing campaigns involve selling as well as sampling - something that FMCG brands are particularly likely to ask for.
"Our field teams are focused on persuading consumers to buy the product, which they can taste as well if they wish," says Paul Ephremsen, managing director of iD.
This requires not only an effective creative and the right choice of environment, but ensuring that staff are selected and trained for their ability to sell, as well as represent the brand.
Similarly, CPM is working with football clubs to help them promote and sell merchandise on match days. "Clients are more hard-nosed about needing to see clear and quick returns on their investments," says managing director Mike Hughes.
TOP 20 FACE-TO-FACE AND ROADSHOW AGENCIES
Rnk Agency Turnover Face-to- Roadshows/ Total
2002 face demos events pounds
pounds pounds £1 RPM 8,520,000 - 8,434,800 8,434,800
2 The Russell
Organisation 7,400,000 1,110,000 5,180,000 6,290,000
3 REL Field Marketing 9,300,000 6,045,000 - 6,045,000
4 PromostaffUK 6,852,000 5,481,600 411,120 5,892,720
5 iD 5,960,000 759,900 4,306,100 5,066,000
6 The Works London 5,829,000 2,331,600 2,331,600 4,663,200
7 Carbon Marketing 4,002,000 1,800,900 1,800,900 3,601,800
8 FDS Field Marketing 18,024,000 1,441,920 1,441,920 2,883,840
9 Professional
Exhibitions 2,813,000 843,900 1,969,100 2,813,000
10 Lime 2,100,000 210,000 1,890,000 2,100,000
11 Capital Event
Marketing 2,070,000 910,800 910,800 1,821,600
12 Raisley 1,760,000 792,000 792,000 1,584,000
13 Marketing Dynamic
Int'l 3,909,000 390,900 977,250 1,368,150
14 Gekko Partners 1,467,000 1,026,900 146,700 1,173,600
15 LoewyBe 2,670,000 934,500 - 934,500
16 Zoo People 1,875,000 305,625 547,500 853,125
17 QSMP 2,900,000 580,000 145,000 725,000
18 The Blue Water Agency 2,698,000 539,600 134,900 674,500
19 PMI Field Marketing 3,200,000 240,000 240,000 480,000
20 The brand company 8,900,000 445,000 - 445,000
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